Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and his predecessor Jack Dorsey
Twitter's new chief executive Parag Agrawal has tweeted a photo of him and his predecessor Jack Dorsey, on the day the social media giant announced it has appointed a new CEO. Mr Agrawal is the latest India-born star tapped to head a major US-based tech company, following the likes of Google-parent Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
He has been trending throughout the day on social media, with many commending on the rise of Indian-origin professionals who have worked their way up to success in big international companies.
"Thank you Jack," Mr Agrawal tweeted. In the photo, both are seen smiling. Behind them are buildings and grounds that appear to be of a corporate campus.
The appointment of Mr Agrawal, a 10-year veteran of Twitter, signaled a tacit endorsement by the board of a strategy the company previously laid out to double its annual revenue by 2023, even if investors were not so sure.
Twitter shares surged nearly 10 per cent after the announcement and closed down 2.7 per cent.
Mr Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter in 2006, is leaving after overseeing the launch of new ways to create content through newsletters or audio conversations while simultaneously serving as CEO of his payments processing company Square Inc. He also navigated the tumultuous years of US President Donald Trump's administration before banning the Republican from the platform after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
In an email to employees on Monday, Mr Dorsey said he chose to step down due to the strength of Mr Agrawal's leadership, the naming of Salesforce Chief Operating Officer Bret Taylor as the new chairman of the board and his confidence in the "ambition and potential" of Twitter's employees.
Mr Agrawal started out as Twitter's technology expert to becoming the latest India-born talent to lead a US tech giant. Unlike his predecessor, Mr Agrawal enjoyed until Monday a much more low-profile role at the company, with only about 24,000 followers on the platform, compared to Mr Dorsey's almost six million.